Wednesday, October 10, 2007

A Rose By Any Other Name ...

When I'm at conferences or signings I get asked all the time if I chose the name Roberts so my books would be shelved next to Nora's. Come to think of it, that would've been awfully clever. I could've hoped to suck off some of Nora's millions of readers and steal them for my own! A problem with that theory is that my books aren't shelved in romance. :)

Actually, I chose the last name Roberts because it came with the man I married many moons ago.

Tess Gerritsen's discussion about pseudonyms and secret identities made me curious. If I had to come up with a pen name to write under, what would I choose? Something that was close to my real name ... Wanda Robot? Something in line with what I write ... Eidolon Macabre?

You can see I'm not very good at this LOL!

What pen name would you choose if you could? If you're a pre-published writer, do you already have a pseudonym picked out or do you plan to write under your real name?

Reminder: You can still enter to win an Advance Copy of Remains by signing up for my mailing list here.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello Wendy,

I read your comment to Tess Gerritsen's new post about writers' identities and found your blog through hers.

I do not like writing under a pseudonym but use my own name, though I can understand that British bestseller author Ruth Rendell - you probably know her - writes a different kind of novel under a different name, Barbara Vine.

http://olivia-kroth.blog.de.vu

Wendy Roberts said...

Hi Olivia, thanks for following my trail from Tess's blog to mine :)

Yes, I know a few authors who write "different kind of novels" under a pen name. Definitely makes sense in some circumstances!

Anonymous said...

Hi Wendy,

thank you for visiting my blog, too. So two mystery writers have met across the Atlantic Ocean, how interesting.

I will definitely read your blog and keep commenting.

In your biography I saw that you are born in Canada. My younger sister has been living in Canada since 1973, first in Montreal, now in Toronto. She is married there.

http://olivia-kroth.blog.de.vu

Wendy Roberts said...

Olivia,
I'm still in Canada but now on the West Coast.

My grandparents are from Russia & Germany :)

B.E. Sanderson said...

Heh. I got my name by marriage, too. I use my initials because it sounds better - more professional and better suited to what I write. If I used my first name, I'd sound like a kindergarten teacher or a grandma-lady better suited to baking, not the writer of gritty thrillers and insightful literature. Ya know? Besides, initials allow me to maintain a little anonymity.

I've played around with the idea of a pseudonym for some of my other-genre works, though. We'll see how it goes.

Wendy Roberts said...

b.e., now I'm more curious than ever to find out what your b.e. stands for!!

Anonymous said...

Wendy,

my sister's Canadian husband has Russian parents, too. They were born in the Ukraine and emigrated in or after World War II. Erroll, my brother-in-law, was born in Montreal.

Travis Erwin said...

Count me among the pre-published.

I always assumed I'd write under my real name, but I have had a few agents that have told me that as a man writing women's fiction I most likely would have to change my name or use initials.

I don't see why since Nicholas Sparks, Robert James Waller, and Nichoals Evans have written for women with a good bit of commercial success but who am I to argue. They can call me Alice, or Lucy or a boy names Sue of that is what it takes.

Wendy Roberts said...

I guess the opinion of your future editor will weigh in, Travis. You know, I enjoy reading woman's fiction from a man's pov!

Anonymous said...

Also pre-published (I got here from Jenny Crusie's Argh Ink, btw). I've thought about writing under a pseudonym, partly for the different genres/different names reason, and partly for the privacy. My possible pseudonyms are all combinations the names of various female ancestors of mine - a way of keeping things in the family, as it were.

Wendy Roberts said...

Leslie, I think going with a combination from female ancestors would be a beautiful thing!